Happy Hugo Casino - Die Gewinne des Spielers wurden konfisziert.

I have been playing at the casino for a long time. After taking an extended break from playing, I started again and actually won a significant amount of €1,500. I continued playing and eventually requested a withdrawal of €1,100. However, this withdrawal was denied, and the winnings were seized. Allegedly, I had played a game that was not permitted. There were several exchanges with support, but they did not address my issue in a meaningful way. They remained superficially friendly, asked about my well-being, but did not respond to the cancellation of my winnings. To my recollection, I did not play the mentioned game, and even if I had, the winnings were earned from a different game. For these reasons, I decided to close my account even though I actually like the casino overall. With this complaint, I want to address what I see as the casino's unfair behavior and potentially highlight similar issues for others. This is before I leave a negative review and file a complaint with the licensing authority. I am very disappointed with a casino I had grown fond of. Deposits are readily accepted, but when it comes to winnings, the real issues begin!

Ich habe seit längerem in dem Casino gespielt. Nach einer längeren Spielpause habe ich in dem Casino wieder angefangen zu spielen, habe dann tatsächlich einen höheren Gewinn von 1.500 Euro gewonnen. Diesen habe ich weiter gespielt und am Ende 1.100 zur Auszahlung beantragt. Diese Auszahlung wurde abgelehnt und der Gewinn einkassiert. Ich hätte vermeintlich ein nicht erlaubtes Spiel gespielt. Es gab mehrere Wechsel mit dem Support, diese gingen im Kern aber nicht auf mein Anliegen an. Blieben oberflächlich freundlich, fragen nach meinen Wohlbefinden aber keine Reaktion auf das stornieren des Gewinns. Ich habe erinnerlich nicht das besagte Spiel gespielt, selbst wenn es so sein sollte, der Gewinn wurde mit einem anderen Spiel erwirtschaftet. Ich habe aus diesen Gründen mein Konto schließen lassen, obwohl ich eigentlich das Casino vom Gesamtpaket her sehr mag. Ich möchte nun mit der Beschwerde aus meiner Sicht unfaires Verhalten des Casinos an anderer Stelle geklärt wissen um ggfs. Andere ähnliche Probleme mit dem Casino aufzeigen. Und das ganze bevor ich eine negative Bewertung für das Casino plus Beschwerde beim Lizenzgeber verfasse. Bin sehr enttäuscht von einem liebgewonnenen Casino. Einzahlungen werden gerne genommen aber bei Gewinn beginnt das wahre handeln!

Dear appleandy,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m sorry to hear about your problem. We think that restricted games for bonus play should be blocked, and this rule enforced at the software level, i.e., that the casino's software or website shouldn't let players place bets on the games that are not allowed to be played while completing the bonus wagering. That would be an ideal scenario. Another acceptable practice would be to at least alert the players when they access a restricted game that this game is not allowed to be played while they have an active bonus. 

• Could you please advise if you have been warned by the software when accessing any of the restricted games and if it was your first redeemed bonus in this casino?

If you wish to forward any relevant communication or supporting evidence you can do so at petronela.k@casino.guru. 

I hope we will be able to help you to resolve your problem as soon as possible. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Petronela

Dear appleandy,

We are extending the timer by 7 days. Please, be aware that in case you fail to respond in the given time frame or don’t require any further assistance, we will reject the complaint.

I agree with you! In my opinion, the problem lies with the casino operators! I play at another casino. Here I get a message saying that I cannot play a game that is not approved for Germany due to restrictions. The game is therefore not opened, so I understand that this is a fair implementation of restrictions.

In my case, this is now being used to collect or retain honestly won profits!

Ich bin ihrer Meinung! Aus meiner Sicht liegt das Problem auf Seite der Casino Betreiber! Ich spiele bei einem weiteren Casino. Hier bekomme ich eine Mitteilung dass ich ein Spiel was nicht für Deutschland freigegeben wird aufgrund der Beschränkung nicht spielen kann. Das Spiel wird somit auch nicht geöffnet, so verstehe ich ein faires umsetzen von Einschränkungen.

In mein Fall wird das nunmehr genutzt um ehrlich gewonnene Gewinne einzukassieren bzw. Einzubehalten!

By the way, I always play without a bonus because when I win, the wagering requirements ensure that there is no winnings left at the end! So you have to make a real bet yourself in order to be able to make a profit!

Im übrigen spiele ich immer ohne Bonus da bei Gewinnen die Umsatzbedingungen dafür sorgen dass kein Gewinn am Ende übrig bleibt! Also realer eigener Einsatz um Gewinne realisieren zu können!

Thank you very much, appleandy, for providing all the necessary information. I will now transfer your complaint to my colleague Michal (michal.k@casino.guru) who will be at your assistance. However, I would like to warn you that it seems to be a common practice of Happy Hugo Casino to ignore us completely in our attempts to mediate any kind of issue. Regardless of many unresolved complaints marked "No Reaction Policy" we keep on trying.

Hello appleandy,

I'm Michal, and I have taken over your complaint. I have reviewed this case and as my colleague Petronela mentioned Happy Hugo Casino was not really cooperative with us in solving player issues, so a positive outcome of your complaint is uncertain, but I will still contact the casino to see if I can help.

We would like to invite Happy Hugo Casino to join the conversation.

Dear Happy Hugo Casino,

How are players made aware they are playing a restricted game? Furthermore, the player has stated that they played without a bonus, so there should not be any restrictions on playing with real money. I kindly request clarification on this matter.

We would like to ask the casino to reply to this complaint. We are extending the timer by 7 days. If the casino fails to respond in the set time frame, we will close the complaint as ‘unresolved’ which may negatively affect its rating.

Dear appleandy,

I have tried to contact the casino repeatedly but had no success. I’m afraid there is not much that can be achieved without cooperation from its side. I will mark the complaint as "unresolved" in our system. I understand this isn't a satisfactory solution to your issue. However, the decrease in the rating caused by unresolved complaints might help to change the casino's approach. If the casino decides to react, we will reopen the complaint, and you will be notified by email. In the meantime, I recommend you contact the Curaçao Antillephone N.V. (complaints@gaminglicences.com) and submit a complaint to them. The Gaming Authority might have more options and tools to help players. Please let me know how they responded (michal.k@casino.guru). I am sorry I could not be of more help on this occasion. I can only recommend checking the reviews of each casino before you sign up and only playing in licensed and good-rated casinos to avoid disappointments like this in the future.

Best regards,

Michal

Casino Guru